Ombudsman Files Report on Conditions at Steward Hospitals
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – While the future of Steward Health Care System’s local hospitals remains unsettled, a court-appointed ombudsman reported improvements at the facilities since earlier visits.
In August, Suzanne Koenig, the ombudsman appointed through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, reviewed Steward’s hospitals in Massachusetts, as well as the ones in Trumbull County and Sharon, Pa. She filed a report with the court Friday.
Koenig, who previously visited the three local hospitals in June, wrote she did not observe any material issues impacting patient care requiring immediate attention, but she did see areas where improvements could be made in the patient care experience.
Additionally, she said she did not see any staffing issues at levels that would lead her to believe patients were in immediate danger or receiving unsafe care. She saw hospitals actively recruiting staff to fill vacancies and “generally demonstrating a strong commitment to quality care.”
In places where equipment was broken, hospital leadership had been renting equipment while waiting for new equipment or repairs. She also noted an overall improvement in meal prep and service.
Koenig reported that staff at Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland had to relocate all the patients from two of the three patient care centers after a cooling tower failure Aug. 8. Those two areas remained closed Aug. 13, when she visited.
Other areas affected by the cooling tower failure included the case management, sleep lab, kitchen department, laboratory services and the pharmacy departments.
A rented chiller was brought in and installed Aug. 14.
Koenig said areas were mostly cleaner and more organized at the unannounced visit Aug. 13 compared with the previous visit. However, patient numbers were down, and a chart showed there were 21 patients on Aug. 8, 28 on Aug. 23 and fewer than 14 patients per day on the first 12 days of September.
Koenig reported that during a visit to Trumbull Regional Medical Center in Warren on Aug. 14, the leadership team had several concerns, including vendors requiring prepayment, which was impacting orthopedic surgeons and the cardiac catheterization lab, loss of specialties such as urology and gastrointestinal, the residency program’s future if the hospital was to close and a decrease in patient volumes.
But she noted that the hospital was well-staffed and its departments were clean, with supplies available.
In August, patient numbers dropped from 70, including 25 in the behavioral health department, to only 14 medical/surgery patients. The hospital ceased behavioral health admissions Aug. 26 after an Aug. 20 closure notice.
A settlement between Steward, Medical Properties Trust, the secured lenders and committee of unsecured lenders was approved by U.S. District Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez on Sept. 17, allowing the hospitals to remain open.
Insight Health System of Flint, Mich., was placed in charge of overseeing operations of both Hillside and Trumbull Regional in the interim until they can be purchased. Insight did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
The ombudsman also visited Sharon Regional Medical Center in Sharon, Pa., on Aug. 14, when hospital leadership and staff still remained concerned about a potential closure. The hospital staff reported at that time they had lost several surgeons, but staffing levels in various departments were adequate.
Koenig reported that two elevators were not functioning. A 300-ton chiller had been purchased but was awaiting installation. She found departments clean and organized.
The report didn’t indicate a significant drop in patients between Aug. 8 and Sept. 10, although there were fewer patients than during her previous visit in June.
There is a plan in place for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania to financially support the hospital, with Meadville Medical Center reportedly slated to purchase it by Dec. 1.
Pictured at top: Trumbull Regional Medical Center in Warren.
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